Kingmaker

Katya's Letters Home #4

Katya in Busy Times

Things have been busy since last I wrote! Sasha and I have been swamped by challenges of all sorts, from diplomacy, to geography, to all out war. Somehow we managed to stumble into a feud between spiteful Mites and a tribe of Kobolds. The fight that resulted was not something I will soon forget. But first, to happier topics.

As part of a bounty assignment, we returned the head of a nasty old boar to an old man north of Oleg and Svetlana’s, and were given a chance to talk to the fellow for quite some time. As a young man he was a hunter and an explorer, but since the boar (called Tuskgutter by the locals) took his leg, he has been confined to his home. He now makes and sells cheeses! I worry for him of course, being out on his own, but he seems a tough sort, and I’m sure Erastil will watch out for him. It’s strange father, to be the missionary in your place. Sometimes I still feel out of my depth.

Next we went South, where Sasha had decided that we should make peace with the faeries of the forest. These were the same pranksters I had written to you of earlier, mischievous little sprites who cared not for intruders in their lands. Sasha hit upon the strategy that we should give the faeries gifts, and through the donation of a pair of lovely earrings, I was able to earn their trust. Dyimi was able to do the same, and Sasha had won them over previously (such tasks are always so easy for him). It was only Lem (the ranger) who could not seem to do what was needed. I swear father, the man is more trouble than he’s worth. Maybe it’s the nature of his drunkard god that makes him the way he is—shallow, sloppy, and just…bothersome. I keep hoping that he will show another side of himself, but none has been evident to this point. For now I will continue to hide behind Sasha and pray that Erastil shows me a better way to deal with him.

On to our battles: I think I mentioned before that we had come across Kobolds in our journeys. Well, we had ventured East to try and find the master of their tribe, and in the process we came across a deep den beneath an ominously-formed tree. Investigation beneath revealed signs of a fight with Kobolds as the victims, and a cavern infested by evil Mites! We fought our way past the door guards, and on to another chamber where a Kobold was being held prisoner by Mite torturers. When we freed the Kobold, he told us that the Mites had stolen a sacred statue of his tribe, and that they needed it back to avoid their shaman’s vengeance.

There was a chasm before us, and so Dyimi (being the lightest of our party) was sent ahead to scout for us. He traversed the handholds on the ceiling with ease, but when Sasha went to follow, everything seemed to go wrong at once. Sasha fell into the pit, and was beset upon by an enormous centipede! At the same time, Dyimi was attacked by more Mites, one of which was riding a giant tick! What was worst of all, I was stuck on the wrong side of the chasm, and could not channel Erastil’s power lest I revive the fallen Mites.

As the battle raged, I decided I had to cross to Dyimi, and halfway across the chasm I was able to channel successfully to heal both Dyimi and Sasha’s wounds. For a moment I thought one of us might fall, but with Erastil’s guidance we held on and fought through.

The situation was intolerable, but somehow we found our way to victory. With the mite leader dead and his centipedes put down, we were able to recover the Kobold’s statue, as well as the wedding ring taken from poor Svetlana. We fought out of the den, past more horrible creatures, and finally saw daylight again. Sasha decided we should go South with the Kobold we had saved, to personally deliver the statue and make peace with his tribe.

This too did not go how I had planned. The Kobolds seemed to be led by a shaman of some power, working against the wishes of the tribe (named as the Sootscale clan by our guide Mik-Mek). Sasha used his negotiator’s tongue to get us all the way to the Kobold leader’s den, where we engaged in negotiation with the shaman. When it became clear that the shaman was a tyrant, Sasha and Dyimi engaged him in battle. We struck him down together, but let the Sootscale’s chieftain finish him off to regain leadership of the tribe. I’m not sure what we did was ultimately for good or evil, but let me tell you that it felt good at the time.

So Father, our task is progressing—sometimes in fits and starts—but always forward, always according to Erastil’s wishes. Give my love to mother and let her know what we are doing here. With luck, next time I write, we will have deposed more villains and done yet greater good.